On Thursday, July 16th, Medicare released the first Star Rating System for Home Health Agencies. The National average of star ratings achieved is 3.0 and the New Jersey State average achieved is 3.5. Community VNA is proud and honored to have achieved a 4.5 Star Rating, the top rating achieved for home health agencies in New Jersey.

Alyce Brophy, President/CEO of Community VNA stated, “We have to thank our entire staff for their continuing hard work to improve the health of our communities. They provide high quality care to our patients and it is wonderful to be recognized for that work.”

As a requirement of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare is providing transparent, easily-understood, public reporting of quality of care information. They have created the Quality of Patient Care Star Ratings to help provide transparency by comparing the quality of care delivered by various Home Health Agencies and assisting consumers in making informed decisions about where they would prefer to receive care. Dr. Patrick Conway, Acting Principal Deputy Administrator for CMS, stated, “Adding star ratings to Home Health Compare is another step forward in our continuing efforts to empower consumers by providing more information to help them make health care decisions, while also encouraging providers to strive for higher levels of quality.”

Qualities of Patient Care Star Ratings are calculated using a subset of the home health quality measures already publicly reported on Home Health Compare. The Star Ratings are quick to read and comprehend and are in a format that is becoming increasingly familiar to consumers. The measures include:

•How often the home health team began their patients care in a timely manner.

•How often the home health team made sure that their patients have received a flu shot for the current flu season.

•How often the home health team taught patients (or their family caregivers) about their prescribed drugs.

•How often home health patients got better at walking or moving around.

•How often home health patients got better at getting in and out of bed.

•How often home health patients had less pain when moving around.

•How often home health patients got better at bathing.

•How often home health patients breathing improved.

•How often home health patients had to be admitted to the hospital.

For more information on the 5-star ratings or to view all the publicly reported measures you can go to: https://www.medicare.gov/homehealthcompare

Community Visiting Nurse Association and its affiliates, Community VNS, Community Home Care and Community Care Hospice are non-profit home health and hospice providers serving Somerset and Middlesex counties since 1948 and Warren County since 2014. They are licensed by the State of New Jersey, certified by Medicare and Medicaid and accredited by Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP). Community VNA provides home health care, hospice care and community services.